Brian Eggleston

Baudrillard, during his post-modern phase of writing, wrote a series of essays

that lament the loss of reality in post-modern culture. He believed that everything that
used to have actual meaning has been replaced by a virtual meaning and that, as
simulation has become more and more realistic, reality has been replaced by
simulation. This is exemplified by the idea of owning an expensive sports car or
convertible. Originally, the convertible represented a way of life and a certain social
status. It displayed the wealth of the owner and represented the extravagance of the
life he/she must lead. However, according to Baudrillard, this significance has been
replaced. The convertible itself has become a simulacrum of the social status it once
represented. It has itself become the social status. No longer does owning a
convertible represent wealth, it simply represents owning a convertible, which has
taken on the social value once given to all of the things owning a convertible once
represented. This theory can be explored further in the genre of art. As Walter
Benjamin points out, the role of art is changing in modern society, now that we have
entered the era of mechanical reproduction. Art has taken on a new meaning and is
changing significantly from what it once was. I’m going to look here at the role of the
quintessential work of art, the Mona Lisa, and explore how it’s changing status can
inform our reading of Baudrillard’s theory of the loss of the real.

The Mona Lisa, perhaps the most famous painting in the history of art, hangs
in Louvre in Paris, behind three layers of glass in a moisture-controlled environment,
with laser sensors around it to prevent theft. It has become one of the most revered
objects in current society, and is probably worth more than any other piece of art in
existence. But why is this piece of art so revered? Why do people travel halfway
around the world to see it? One might like to think that it is because of its inherent
beauty, and because of our love of art. But with the age of mechanical reproduction
upon us, this theory becomes increasingly untenable. It is possible to open up a book
of art and see a reproduction of the original so exact that it is virtually
indistinguishable from the original. So, there must be something about the original
Mona Lisa beyond just its content that makes it so special.

Under a Baudrillardian reading, one might suspect that the Mona Lisa is no
longer the same object that it once was. Perhaps its meaning is slowly being replaced
by another, virtual meaning. Where once it was a painting of a woman with a slightly
odd smile, now it is no such thing at all. It has ceased to be a painting of a woman,
and has become a painting of itself. It has ceased to represent anything, and now
represents simply its own existence. The value of the painting, once derived from its
content and beauty, now is simply derived by virtue of being the painting that it is.
This replacement of the real with the virtual is another step towards society being
replaced with its own simulation. The Mona Lisa is no longer a painting, but is a
simulation of a painting, in fact a simulation of itself.

References

Baudrillard, J. (1991). Simulacra and science fiction. Science Fiction Studies,

18(3), http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/55/baudrillard55art.htm.

Benjamin, W. (1936). The work of art in the age of mechanical

reproduction, http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjami
n.htm.